London partners gear up to welcome the sports world

Thursday 24 March 2011

A whole range of London partners including broadcaster Sky, design and construction company CH2MHill and the world's most popular entertainment destination AEG's The O2 with the Royal Borough of Greenwich are all working together to support the Mayor of London in welcoming the world’s leading sports federations and businesses at the SportAccord International Convention in London (3rd – 8th April 2011) which starts in just 10 days!

The convention will be based at the popular Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel London and will see over 1,500 of the world's top sporting officials, businesses and IOC Members from more than 60 countries arrive in the capital. The convention is expected to contribute over £3m to London's economy. However, it is expected to be worth many more millions through contracts for new businesses and more major events coming to the capital and the UK beyond 2012.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson will be welcoming the delegates on the first day of the official convention programme which starts on the 5th April. 'The SportAccord Convention offers us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the talent and expertise that we have here in London to some of the most influential people in world sport. I look forward to welcoming everyone involved next month and to giving them a taste of what we have in store for London 2012 and after.'

The official visitor organisation, Visit London will be leading on the city welcome, where a number of other key partners will be delivering London’s SportAccord Convention including host city partners CH2MHill, The O2 with The Royal Borough of Greenwich and broadcaster Sky. The ODA and OPLC are providing a schedule of Olympic Park Tours over the week, so that the delegates can have the opportunity to see the Park near completion. Broadcasters Sky will also be the official host city broadcaster and will be interviewing key spokespeople and sports federations coming in for the six-day event.

SportAccord Convention's opening night ceremony which takes place on the 5th April will be hosted by AEG at The O2, the world’s most popular venue. The O2 is a key venue for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and delegates will be transported by the high speed Thames Clippers river service along the River Thames before enjoying an evening of entertainment at indigO2, in Greenwich.

The Royal Borough of Greenwich will host 34 of the London 2012 sporting events at three Olympic and Paralympic venues, attracting an international audience and unlimited business opportunities. Greenwich will be showcasing its wealth of venues for corporate hospitality as well as first-class office space, training camp facilities and a host of other Olympic-related requirements.

Other key host city supporters include Heathrow Express – who will be transferring delegates between Heathrow and Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel London. BMW who is the official Automotive Partner will be transporting VIP delegates, Icon who will be providing signposting, Populous providing Architectural Design Services, G4S providing Safety and Security Supplier and Deloitte who have come on board in the Professional Services Category.

To close the convention a closing ceremony is also planned with partners The Concerto Group who will be hosting a finale event at two of London’s iconic events spaces, the EDF Energy London Eye and the London Aquarium.

Notes to Editors

Visit London has supported the SportAccord Convention bid through their dedicated Events for London team. The EfL team has been created to support the capital's major events strategy to attract, develop and deliver major sporting and cultural events.

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